Flora of New Zealand Series

; Holotype: CHR 51923! A. P. Druce Mt Travers, Nelson Prov. c. 4600 ft, tussock grassland, 5 April 1947.

Stiff scabrid leaved tussock with scabrid inflorescences of wide-angled branches of awned spikelets borne high above circular or hexagonal glaucous leaves. Prophyll 3-5 cm, stramineous, keels strongly ciliate. Leaf-sheath (5)-10-15 cm, glabrous or minutely scabrid, keeled, stramineous, margins membranous, brown below; apical auricles 0.3-0.7 mm, ciliate. Collar usually swollen. Leaf-blade 15-25-30 cm × 0.5-0.7 mm diam., glaucous, hexagonal and ribbed or terete, abaxially minutely or strongly antrorsely prickle-toothed sometimes glabrous, adaxially with abundant short white antrorse hairs on ribs and margins; TS: 5 vascular bundles, 7 sclerenchyma strands or continuous, costal sclerenchyma sometimes present. Culm 30-45-(70) cm, usually greatly exceeding leaf-blades, nodes sometimes geniculate, uppermost conspicuous, upper internodes sparsely prickle-toothed or glabrous. Panicle (7)-10-15 cm with 6-9 nodes, of 8-13-(25) spikelets; open wide-angled pulvinate branches sometimes contracted or becoming so, naked below, basal branch solitary with 2-4-(7) spikelets, uppermost 4-6 spikelets solitary on short (2-4 mm) pedicels; rachis, branches and pedicels with abundant small prickle-teeth especially on convex surfaces, longer prickle-teeth on margins. Spikelets 10-15 mm × 4.5 mm wide, of 4-6-(9) florets. Glumes unequal, keeled with prickle-teeth above, centrally green-bronze, margins pale membranous, ciliate; lower 3.4-5 mm, 1-nerved, triangular acute, upper 4.5-7 mm, 3-nerved, long triangular acute to obovate acute. Lemma (4.5)-6-7 mm, lobes small (0.05 mm) or 0, rounded below becoming keeled above, sparsely scabrid on margin below and near awn; awn (0.5)-1-2 mm. Palea (5)-6-7 mm, frequently > lemma, apex deeply (0.5-0.7 mm) bifid, ciliate, keels toothed ½-⅔ or more, interkeel hairs above, margins of flanks ciliate above. Callus 0.2-0.3 mm, margins sparsely bearded, articulation ± flat. Rachilla 1-1.2-1.5 mm, abundantly short stiff hairy. Lodicules 0.8-1.1 mm, > ovary, often hair-tipped. Anthers 2.5-3.75 mm, yellow or purpled. Gynoecium: ovary 0.5-0.75 mm, hispid hairs at apex; stigma-styles 1.8-2.5 mm. Caryopsis 3-3.5 mm; embryo 0.5 mm; hilum 2-3 mm.

S.: north-west Nelson, Mt Benson, central and southern Nelson from St Arnaud to Lewis Pass, Marlborough, Wairau Mountains, Richmond Range. Subalpine and alpine tussock grasslands; 900-1600 m.

Endemic.

Subsp. aquilonia has two characters mostly associated with F. novae-zelandiae viz scabrid leaves, and inflorescence rachis, branches, and pedicels with a multitude of small prickles especially on the ridged convex surface. Some TS leaf sections are also typical of F. novae-zelandiae.